I’ve updated the OP to reflect the fact that order is now configurable.
However, I have not been able to reproduce it having no effect. Maybe it’s a huge coincidence as you said. You can verify this independent of the theme component by going to /u?order=likes_received&period=yearly&order=likes_received and /u?order=likes_received&period=yearly&order=likes_given on your site. See if the points still look the same.